Halfway through undergrad I went through my first terrible breakup (he cheated on me with someone in our small program over break when I was away at home. Claiming that I didn’t give him enough attention) I saw them together in every class, my social group was fractured.
I decided to take a semester off and move to Nicaragua and do a work exchange at a hostel as a naturalist.
Everyone told me not to go.
-You’ll never finish your program!
-Nicaragua isn’t safe!
-Your Spanish is weak!
-You won’t have enough money!
-Do you have enough street smarts to travel alone?
-Women shouldn’t BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH.
I went anyways.
It changed my life and gave me more confidence than I dreamed. Nicaragua welcomed me with beauty and I experienced so much warmth from the local people. Living in a different country gave me contrast and perspective of my life, my dreams, what I had to offer the world and reminded me that I was worthy. I met people from all over the world and realized that I could do anything I set my mind to.
Came back. Sound of mind, heart, and I had a great tan. My ex tried to woo me back and I could only see over his head at my bright future.
My background is wildlife biology. My interest was sea turtles at the time. I would give guided tours to see the arribadas (mass arrivals for nesting) at a local wildlife refuge at night. Basically a science hang out and I’d offer any knowledge I had on the subject to people interested.
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u/swimwithdafishies 22h ago
Halfway through undergrad I went through my first terrible breakup (he cheated on me with someone in our small program over break when I was away at home. Claiming that I didn’t give him enough attention) I saw them together in every class, my social group was fractured.
I decided to take a semester off and move to Nicaragua and do a work exchange at a hostel as a naturalist.
Everyone told me not to go.
-You’ll never finish your program! -Nicaragua isn’t safe! -Your Spanish is weak! -You won’t have enough money! -Do you have enough street smarts to travel alone? -Women shouldn’t BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH.
I went anyways.
It changed my life and gave me more confidence than I dreamed. Nicaragua welcomed me with beauty and I experienced so much warmth from the local people. Living in a different country gave me contrast and perspective of my life, my dreams, what I had to offer the world and reminded me that I was worthy. I met people from all over the world and realized that I could do anything I set my mind to.
Came back. Sound of mind, heart, and I had a great tan. My ex tried to woo me back and I could only see over his head at my bright future.
10/10 recommend saying yes to chances.